Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Reviews

PAFA is tiny, so there are not that many classes offered and the whole school is on the same schedule: two classes a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with a 90-minute lunch break in between. You have to know you want to be at a program like this to be happy here. The instructors are so knowledgeable and are experts in their respective fields; it is primarily a painting school, and it is EXTREMELY steeped in tradition, so they still teach traditionally. The program is pretty intense but you learn a lot and the instructors are extremely encouraging of their students. Freshman classes probably have about 15 students, maybe even a few more, and that's about as big as the classrooms can handle. If you took art classes in high school, you know how much space all those projects can take up! Higher level classes can have anywhere from 5-12 students depending on the popularity of the class, number of sections offered, and the amount of freedom older students have in their schedules. Many of the teachers have been here a fairly long time and some even went to PAFA themselves.

Security is in the building and courtyard 24/7; off campus, you are in center city, which is generally fine during the day. Every student has key cards which have to be swiped to enter the building and again at the entrance to any of the interior floors and stairwells. There's a shuttle that runs every night at 10:30, after the building closes, to get students back to the dorms safely. There is information available for sexual assault, domestic violence, emotional support, psychological help, and other topics posted around the campus, and that information was advertised to us during orientation. I haven't heard of any sexual assault at school, and it's hard to believe there could be much of an issue at such a small school.
The school has an agreement with a local health provider that lets students see a general practitioner free of charge. There is also a thing set up with the University of Pennsylvania's psych center that will counsel students for free (for a limited number of visits) and give 24/7 support.

I just started a few weeks ago. I transferred from another school after a lot of research into what kind of school I really wanted to be at and what I needed to be successful as an artist. The program here is very small, but the professors and administration are so invested, and they make such an effort to help students in any way that they can both in and out of the classroom. They put so much effort into cultivating a sense of community among all the people who study and work at the school and museum, and it really does feel like a family. We encourage, critique, and support one another. So far, I'm very happy. This school is exactly what I wanted: a small-school feel with access to a lot of opportunities (location in the heart of Philadelphia!) and a rigorous, traditional program.